Though the Boeing 737 MAX remains grounded, the Polish charter company Enter Air places two firm orders for Boeing 737 MAX 8, plus two optional. It is the first order registered by Boeing for its flagship aircraft since the end of 2019.
Enter Air already operates an all-Boeing fleet which includes twenty-two 737-800s and two 737 MAX airliners. It is still awaiting deliveries for four 737 MAX ordered in 2015, meaning that this new deal could see its total fleet of the model reach 10 aircraft.
“Despite the current crisis, it is important to think about the future,” commented Grzegorz Polaniecki, general director and board member of Enter Air, in a statement. “Following the rigorous checks that the 737 MAX is undergoing, I am convinced it will be the best aircraft in the world for many years to come.”
The manufacturer and the carrier also reached a confidential agreement regarding compensation for the commercial impact of the 737 MAX grounding. “In the settlement with Boeing, we agreed to revise the delivery schedule for the previously-ordered airplanes in response to current market conditions,” Polaniecki said.
The Boeing 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes that led to the deaths of 346 people. A successful series of recertification flights was carried out in late June 2020, but the manufacturer is still waiting for the authorities’ greenlight to resume deliveries – which it warned would not happen before the fourth quarter at best.
Boeing registered 398 order cancellations for the 737 MAX since the start of the year, according to a monthly report published on August 11, 2020.